1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a work vehicle having a traveling transmission system in which a driving force of an output shaft of an engine is transmitted from a continuously variable transmission device (CVT) to an input shaft of a transmission case, and a driving force of the transmission case is transmitted to wheels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-82631 describes one example of the above-described conventional work vehicle in which an engine and a transmission are arranged next to each other, and on a lateral side of the engine and transmission, a belt converter is disposed. A lateral face of the engine and a lateral face of the transmission are joined with a connecting plate to thereby unify the engine and the transmission, and thus a positional relationship between the output shaft of the engine and the input shaft of the transmission is fixed.
In the work vehicle having a belt-type CVT between the output shaft of the engine and the input shaft of the transmission, it is advantageous to have the connecting plate as shown in the above-described document, from a viewpoint of retaining positional accuracy between the output shaft and the input shaft. However, in the case of the connecting plate oriented orthogonally to an axis of the output shaft and an axis of the input shaft, there is a possibility that the connecting plate may suffer an elastic deformation in a bending direction, due to a tensile force exerted in an endless belt of belt-type CVT between the output shaft and the input shaft. In other words, since the connecting plate is in a plate shape, when the tensile force exerted in the endless belt acts on the connecting plate, the elastic deformation in the bending direction is likely to occur, and accuracy in relative position between the engine and the transmission may be reduced. Especially, since the tensile force exerted in the endless belt acts in a direction that makes a distal end side of the output shaft and a distal end side of the input shaft closer, parallelism of the output shaft of the engine and the input shaft of the transmission is reduced.
In order to eliminate the above-described disadvantages, if a strong frame formed of a channel-shaped member or pipe member is introduced instead of the connecting plate, the device will become larger.
Electric components, such as starter motor and generator, are disposed in the vicinity of the engine. Accordingly, when the work vehicle is washed or it rains hard, water may enter the electric component and cause a malfunction. There has also been a demand for solving such inconveniences.